Texas Election Calendar 2026: Early Voting Dates, Mail Ballot Deadline and Election Day on Nov. 3

Early voting in Texas runs from Monday, Oct. 19 through Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, with polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The next deadline is Friday, Oct. 23: applications for a ballot by mail must reach your county’s early voting clerk by then. Every date below comes from the Texas Secretary of State’s election calendars. Your county sets the exact early voting sites and hours, within the minimums the state requires.

Dates left before Nov. 3

Date	What happens
Mon., Oct. 19-Fri., Oct. 30	Early voting at any early voting site in your county
Fri., Oct. 23	Last day for the clerk to receive a mail ballot application
Sat., Oct. 31-Mon., Nov. 2	No early voting
Tue., Nov. 3, 7 a.m.-7 p.m.	Election Day; mailed ballots due by 7 p.m.
Wed., Nov. 4, 5 p.m.	Mailed ballots postmarked by 7 p.m. Nov. 3 still count if they arrive by now
Mon., Nov. 9	Ballots from overseas and military voters due; last day to fix a flagged mail ballot in person at the early voting clerk’s office

The voter registration deadline for this election was Monday, Oct. 5. The 30th day before the election fell on a Sunday, so the state moved the deadline to the next business day.

Early voting hours: the minimums

The election law calendar sets how long a county’s main early voting site must stay open. Branch sites can keep shorter hours, so check your county’s list before you go.

Days	Minimum at the main site
Mon., Oct. 19-Thu., Oct. 22	9 hours each day
Fri., Oct. 23	12 hours
Sat., Oct. 24	12 hours
Sun., Oct. 25	6 hours
Mon., Oct. 26-Fri., Oct. 30	12 hours each day

Weekday early voting cannot start before 6 a.m. or run past 10 p.m. Sunday voting cannot start before 9 a.m. The Secretary of State’s calendar sets 12 hours for Friday, Oct. 23, and for every weekday of the final week, Oct. 26-30.

Mail ballot deadlines

Texas allows voting by mail for people who are 65 or older on Election Day, sick or disabled, expecting to give birth within three weeks before or after Election Day, out of their county for all of early voting and Election Day, civilly committed under Chapter 841 of the Health and Safety Code, or confined in jail but otherwise eligible, according to VoteTexas.gov.

• Application: it must reach the early voting clerk by Friday, Oct. 23, by the close of regular business or noon, whichever is later. You can deliver it in person, mail it, or send it by email or fax. An emailed or faxed copy needs the original to reach the clerk within four business days.
• Ballot: due by 7 p.m. on Nov. 3. A ballot mailed in the United States with a postmark or receipt mark of 7 p.m. Nov. 3 or earlier counts if it arrives by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4.
• Overseas and military voters: ballots sent by 7 p.m. Nov. 3 count if they arrive by Monday, Nov. 9. Some voters who applied with a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) do not need a postmark.
• Fixing a problem: if the clerk flags a defect on your carrier envelope, you can correct certain defects in person at the early voting clerk’s office through the sixth day after the election, Monday, Nov. 9.

Deadlines in other states are in our mail ballot deadlines by state guide.

The full 2026 Texas election schedule

The March and May dates have passed but still answer a common question: when each part of the 2026 cycle happened.

Election	Register by	Early voting	Mail applications due	Election Day
Primary	Mon., Feb. 2	Tue., Feb. 17-Fri., Feb. 27	Fri., Feb. 20	Tue., March 3
Primary runoff	Mon., April 27	Mon., May 18-Fri., May 22	Fri., May 15	Tue., May 26
General election	Mon., Oct. 5	Mon., Oct. 19-Fri., Oct. 30	Fri., Oct. 23	Tue., Nov. 3

Some cities, school districts and other local bodies also held elections on Saturday, May 2. After Nov. 3, the governor can conduct the state canvass of results as early as Saturday, Nov. 21. Runoffs for local races decided on Nov. 3 are set for Saturday, Dec. 12, under the Secretary of State’s designation.

What is on the ballot

Texans choose a U.S. senator, a governor and seven other statewide officials, plus 10 seats on the state’s top courts. There are no statewide propositions this year. Every certified candidate is listed in our Texas ballot 2026 guide, and your county’s sample ballot shows the local races; our sample ballot by ZIP code guide links the largest counties. Bring one of the accepted photo IDs, and note that phones cannot be used where you vote.

Print the calendar

Our free one-page Texas Election Calendar 2026 marks October and November with each early voting day and its minimum hours, the Oct. 23 mail deadline, Election Day and the ballots that can arrive after it. A strip at the bottom lists the March primary, the May runoff and the dates after Nov. 3. For your own plans, use our October and November 2026 calendars or a yearly calendar. On election night, see what time polls close across the country.